Wulfric Niklaus Bauer III (Klaus)
} } }} }} Early Life Wulfric Niklaus Bauer III (Klaus) was born in the year 9541 to Niklaus and Moira Bauer in the country of Dale. Although his family was new nobility, the Bauer family enjoyed a great deal of respect and admiration from their community due to the heroic deeds of his grandfather, Wulfric. This was not lost on young Klaus. Many of his early days were spent learning philosophy, business, politics, mathematics, history, law, and so on. His reward for all of this was getting to listen to his grandfather's tales of adventure and exploit with his adventuring companions, his wife Leona, Skjall Rotstein, and Diedrich Zimmer. Sometimes Niklaus would even let Wulfric teach young Klaus how to swing a sword and carry a shield - but only after his studies had been completed. In 9550, a specter from Wulfric's past returned to attack Dale - the necromancer Maldaire. Thought to have been defeated decades ago in a battle that claimed Leona's life, he had returned to seek vengeance on Wulfric. Klaus was forced to hide in his home with his father and their servants while his Grandfather and the soldiers and guards took on the evil wizard. Ultimately, both Wulfric and Maldaire succumbed to one another. Klaus never forgot the brave sacrifice that Wulfric made. It was the same sacrifice that both of his grandparents made time and time again. His admiration for them and their lifestyle only grew over time. While Niklaus pushed his son towards a life of privilege and responsibility, Klaus pushed back harder to study combat and theology. Eventually, Klaus would tell his father of his desire to become a Paladin, taking a sacred oath to bring peace and justice to all. Niklaus had been trying to find a suitable bride for his son, thinking that if he could get young Klaus to get married, he'd settle down and give up on a life of adventure. Niklaus agreed to allow his son to abandon his responsibilities as a noble and become a Paladin if he'd only meet one more young noblewoman from the neighboring state of Bedavorne. If she was not to his liking, he could go on his way. Klaus Accepted. Meeting Theodora Greyspine According to the agreement between Klaus and his father, they would travel to bedavorne, meet the Greyspines, and if Klaus was not fond of their daughter Theodora, he could leave and devote his life to being a Paladin. When Klaus and Theo met over dinner, he found himself quite taken by Theo in spite of himself. His admiration would be short-lived. Theo was mean, condescending, self-absorbed, and crass. Unbeknownst to Klaus, much of this was an act to attempt to drive him away. She was being pushed into this relationship as much as he was. Anticipating these events, Niklaus and the Greyspines colluded to ensnare their two unruly offspring with a pair of cursed bangles. Each one of them was asked to wear one of the bangles to dinner. When they became to far apart from one another, a terrible buzzing and sounds of whispered gibberish would enter their minds. The idea was that if they actually spent time together, they would come to accept and grow fond of one another. Klaus and Theo ran away in the night. They decided that they would never be able to bear one another's presence, and that their only recourse was to try to find a way to have the cursed bangles removed. They made their way on foot to Galasi Munthu, another nearby city-state that was home to a sort of adventurer's guild called The Idle Hand. This group would be their best bet to gather enough wealth and favor to find someone willing and able to help them. Adventures with the Idle Hand Lots of stuff coming here. Trip to the Past Lots of stuff here, too. The Dawnbringers While in the year 9515, Klaus and the others sought to retrieve the Dawnstar - a powerful artifact bestowed by Pelor unto one of his heralds. Klaus was visited by a former mentor in a dream, and was told to seek out the hammer. According to Illyria, it was currently being held by a group known as the Scarlet Crusade on the island continent of Bruscha. The crusade was once a sect of Pelor's faithful, but a kind of perversion swept over them until they became a cult. They became cruel and malicious overlords bent on punishing the masses into faithfulness to the Dawnfather. By luck and circumstance, Klaus came to own a ship while looking for a means of passage to Bruscha. While he didn't understand the decision of the former captain, he took on his new role as ship captain with purpose. He learned the basics of captaining a ship from the first mate, Mr. Owain, as they took the three month voyage to Bruscha. They arrived on the western edge of Bruscha and ventured on land eastward. In their travels, the adventurers found that the Scarlet Crusade had been terrorizing the people of Bruscha. People were punished brutally for the smallest of infractions. Klaus and his compatriots hastened their march towards the Scarlet Crusade's stronghold, the Scarlet Monastery. After a trek through a swamp, between mountains, and across a desert, they arrived. They entered the monastery, some under the guise of prospective recruits, and others remaining hidden. At night, they launched a sudden attack upon the leaders of the twisted sect. The battle was almost lost until Klaus spotted the Dawnstar and claimed it. He quickly turned the tide, eliminating the crusade's leadership in one fell swoop. Upon seeing Klaus with the Dawnstar, the lower members of the Crusade bowed to him and accepted him as their leader. While Klaus still felt a duty to help his friends, he knew that the Crusade would still be dangerous if they did not find new purpose. He decided to stay with them, officially spawning the Dawnbringers. The group is now devoted to bringing prosperity and happiness back to the people of Bruscha, and eventually beyond. Klaus would also begin to use this new organization to search for information regarding Gaunter O'Dimm, the Bangles, The Tower, Galasi Munthu, and various other mysteries yet unsolved.